Beyond the Farthest Star (episode)

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

"Beyond the Farthest Star"
TAS, Episode 1x01 Production number: 22004 First aired: 8 September 1973
←	4th of 22 produced in TAS	→
	1st of 22 released in TAS	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 22 released in TAS Remastered
←	80th of 726 released in all	→
Written By Samuel A. Peeples Directed By Hal Sutherland
5221.3 - 5221.8 (2269)
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Kirk's crew come across an ancient derelict vessel, but something is still living inside it.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Memorable Quotes 3 Background information 3.1 Video and DVD releases 4 Links and References 4.1 Main Cast 4.2 Guest Stars 4.3 References

[edit] Summary

"Captain's log, stardate: 5221.3. On outward course beyond the fringe of our galaxy towards Questar M-17, a source of mysterious radio emissions. Mission: Star charting."

En route to investigate, the Enterprise suddenly experiences severe hypergravitational effects from Questar M-17's negative star mass. The starship gets pulled towards the remnants of the star, but manages to obtain a standard orbit.

The crew discover a huge damaged pod ship of unknown alien origin. It turns out this vessel is the source of the radio emissions. Kirk orders Sulu to put the Enterprise alongside the ancient starship, and then he asks Spock for readings on the ship. Spock reports that the temperature is absolute zero and that there is no energy in the ship to support life or send the radio messages. The only thing detected is a magnetic reading that could be normal for the metal used in the ship's construction. To Kirk's questions as to whether the metal or design can be identified, Spock answers, "Negative to both, Captain. Unknown alloy, harder and lighter than any registered metal. It is not a recorded galactic starship design. Retro analysis of the ships spectrum dates it as having been in orbit here for slightly more than 300 million years."

Kirk decides to board the beautifully-designed starship with Scotty and Dr. McCoy, so they strap on their life support belts and beam over. The ship appears to have been built by an insectoid race. Spock remarks, "The hexagonal shape of the windows suggests a similarity to natural insect designs of Earth, the honeycombs of bees; the individual cells are shaped precisely like this." Scotty marvels, "Would you look at this, now. This metal isn't cast or rolled; it was drawn into filaments and spun." Kirk is fascinated and adds, "Like a spider spins its web." Making a scientific observation, Spock says, "A lighter and stronger material than anything we have now." Kirk then notices something about the ship and remarks, "Look, every pod, they've all been burst open." Scotty agrees, "Aye, from the inside from the looks of them." McCoy conjectures, "Must have been some accident to get almost every pod." Spock refutes this statement, "Accidents seldom have such system, Dr. McCoy. I believe we must consider the alternative possibility. That the crew of this ship destroyed her… themselves."

"Captain's Log: We have beamed aboard the alien ship found orbiting a strange dead star. The Enterprise is recording all data for the log and a full report later."

Kirk contacts the Enterprise and reaches Lieutenant Uhura. Kirk asks her, "Lieutenant, are you still getting that radio signal from this ship?" She replies, "Negative Captain. It stopped transmitting when you beamed aboard." Kirk then requests she keep a transporter lock on them because he has decided to investigate the inside of the strange spaceship. Spock registers a slight energy reading on his tricorder. He tells Kirk that it seems the ship is receiving the energy the away team is generating and storing it up. The whole ship was made for just that purpose.

When the Enterprise crew enter the command center of the ship, a ship's log starts playing, explaining that the original crew tried to crash into the star remnant to destroy a malevolent entity that was terrorizing the crew.

When the landing party beams back aboard Enterprise, the malevolent entity uses the transporter to beam to the ship. It takes over control of the ship's systems, using Enterprise's phasers to destroy the insectoid craft. It turns out that the entity wants to use the Enterprise to take it away from the dead star. But Spock has placed the navigation console inside a static shield, so the entity cannot steer the ship. However, the entity has taken the crew hostage. Kirk acts as if he is obeying the entity, but actually plans to use the slingshot effect to break out of orbit. The entity, thinking Kirk is going to crash the Enterprise into the star, flees for its life while the Enterprise frees itself from Questar's gravitational pull, leaving the creature to orbit around the star forever, wailing in terrible, endless loneliness.

"Captain's log, stardate: 5221.8, final entry. Resuming outward course beyond the farthest star of our galaxy. Mission: star charting."

[edit] Memorable Quotes

"Look, every pod, they've all been burst open."
"Aye, from the inside from the looks of them."
"Must have been some accident to get almost every pod."
"Accidents seldom have such system, Dr. McCoy. I believe we must consider the alternative possibility. That the crew of this ship destroyed her... themselves."

- Kirk, Scotty, McCoy, and Spock

"The whole ship is designed to receive and store energy."

- Scotty

"A physiological symptom of latent primal superstition. The fear of primitive people confronting something unknown to them."

- Spock

"Compared to the people who built this ship, we are primitives. Even you Mr. Spock."

- Kirk

"You will now remove the static shield from the navigational console, Captain James T. Kirk."
"You have shut down every life-support system and endangered members of my crew. Restore those systems first!"
"All non-essential units are extinguished. You will obey me."
"And if I refuse?"
"Obey me!"

- Magnetic organism and Kirk - Listen to this quote^file info

[edit] Background information

• This episode was penned by Samuel A. Peeples, who previously wrote the second Star Trek pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
• The title of this episode was apparently lifted from one of Edgar Rice Burroughs' lesser-known science fiction novels.
• DS9 Season 6 had a similarly-named episode entitled: "Far Beyond the Stars".
• Almost all sources list the original air date for this episode as 22 December 1973. This was the original air date in Los Angeles only, as it was preempted there because of George Takei's run for City Council and "equal time" issues. The actual air date is 8 September 1973 (or seven years to the day from the 1966 premiere of TOS).
• A number of sources, beginning with the Star Trek Concordance by Bjo Trimble, incorrectly list the stardate of this episode as 5521.3
• A limited-edition collector's animation cel inspired by this episode was once available from Tuttle Enterprises. The cel was number "ST-16."
• This episode was adapted for a novelization, written by Alan Dean Foster, published in Ballantine Books' Star Trek Log 1.
• Lieutenant Kyle reappears from the original series, though voiced by James Doohan, replacing John Winston. Kyle has grown a mustache by this point, which foreshadows John Winston sporting a goatee in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
• This episode marks the first and only use of the "Automatic Bridge Defense System". The device was never seen again in any subsequent series.
• When Scotty is pinned beneath the engineering casing, for a brief moment he is shown wearing the insignia of a Captain.
• When the cutter beams move the core hatch door off of Scotty, the sound-effect it makes when it hits the floor is a common sound-effect from The Flintstones.
• The cutting beam itself emanates from an instrument that looks almost exactly like the hand-held spectrum analyzer used by Spock in the TOS episode "The Naked Time".
• The "warp drive unit" in this episode seems to allow the Enterprise to warp through a dead star.
• The pod ship featured in this episode was also used in the Ships of the Line book, made up of images from the calendars.

[edit] Video and DVD releases

• UK VHS release (CIC Video): Volume 1, catalogue number VHR 2535, 6 December 1991.
• As part of the The Animated Series DVD collection.

[edit] Links and References

[edit] Main Cast

• William Shatner as James T. Kirk
• Leonard Nimoy as Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy
• James Doohan as:
  • Montgomery Scott
  • Arex (no lines)
• George Takei as Hikaru Sulu
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel (no lines)

[edit] Guest Stars

• James Doohan as
  • Kyle
  • Sciences division officer
  • Ancient insectoid
  • Magnetic organism

[edit] References

300 million years ago; absolute zero; artificial gravity; automatic bridge defense system; bee; brain; cutter beam; core hatch; corpuscle; engineering core; flank speed; force field; G1 star; galactic plane; galactic coordinate; gravimetric slingshot; honeycomb; hypergravity; insect; insectoid; insectoid ship; life support belt; life support system; log entry; magnetic organism; memory bank; mitosis; navigation console; negative mass; neutron star; primate; probability; Questar M-17; radio; self-destruct device; slingshot effect; spectra analysis; spider; star chart; static shield; symbiotic lifeform; warp drive

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